Another point on your analogy is that the reward your teacher was offering was a standalone thing. As I've already said, if the HK Chapter was just that, a HK bonus chapter, I wouldn't mind (nor would I think it should be offered again), but as it ends the story of the Shroud, it's a different issue.

How many times need it be said? It wasn't well advertised. In case you couldn't be bothered following the link posted earlier: "Choose to be a continuous Subscriber from January 11 to August 1 and unlock a special bonus chapter where you PLAY AS HK-55, undertaking a special personal mission as the iconic Droid." That was all the information that you could get, before the cutoff date to be subscribed, at least. Nothing to do with the Shroud. It baffles me that you accuse others of being ignorant, of refusing to read or putting in the smallest effort to stay informed. Why? On the off chance that they've hidden the end of another story within it? That doesn't really make sense. I doubt anyone's been on the edge of their seat for years (but the ending of that storyline begs for a conclusion), but, speaking from experience, it's a real shame when a new player completes the Shroud storyline, then idly wonders whether or not there's more to it, only to find out that they're cut off from the ending forever. Watching it is not really the same thing; interactivity is key in a Role Playing Game. But once again, it's not about coveting what I don't have. Yes, it's true that I want it, but I hold it in the same esteem as I hold the end to any other story: which is to say, I think it's important. But I don't "want" any other ending to any other story, because I already have those endings. Not being able to get it puts it in a different position, but that's not why I want it.

Not the bonus chapter itself, no, but the Shroud storyline is (and the bonus chapter wraps that up). It's not a main storyline, but as far as side stories go, it's about as major as they come. Not only is there a long quest chain involved with it (the entirety of the Macrobinocular storyline), it comes up a few times in the post-basegame Agent's storyline. The amount of time that you have to put into it makes it the longest side storyline that I can think of (along with the Seeker Droid stuff, which is about the same length). It's pretty big. I'm not the only person in this thread to say that there was never any information that the bonus chapter involved the Shroud before the cut off point that you had to be subscribed. You're the only person I recall that says otherwise. Is everyone else wrong? There simply wasn't any way to be informed. You must be right, though; many, many people were simply ignorant fools, who don't like to read. Yep. Anyone new to the game? Just someone who doesn't like to read, someone who can't bother staying informed, idiots, all of them. Also, what's with this "Johnny" thing? This thread is literally the first time I've ever seen anyone referring to someone as a hypothetical person named Johnny, and you're the second to do it. It's a little bizarre, honestly. "Because someone doesn't like to read", and "Because you don't like to read" both make a lot more sense. Speaking about someone as a hypothetical person, in the third person, is utterly strange. That has nothing to do with it. I consider the ending of any story to be equally important as I find this chapter. Whether or not I have access to it is irrelevant. I hardly think I'm ranting, nor am I blowing anything out of proportion. Is it that strange of an opinion to hold, that locking the end of a story in a subscription bonus is unfair? More so considering there was no warning that it would be. More unfair to new players, too.

I haven't seen anyone say that any of those things are a reason why people should have the Chapter, just that these are possible reasons why BioWare might make the Chapter available, if they choose to do so.

I'll concede the Security Key CC's and the referral CC's, but surely the Subscriber coins aren't free. How can it be that some people paid $120 for the chapter, and yet some people get "free" CC's for Subscribing? It can't work both ways, and the other free CC's are negligible at best. So either there's some other way to get free CC's, or there really aren't too many free CC's out there at all. A few hundred a month, compared to something that would doubtlessly cost thousands of CC's, were it made available.

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I am only interested because it ends the Shroud storyline. Were it simply a standalone HK-55 story, I might be a little disappointed that I can't play it, but I'd be okay with that. The fact that it wraps up an already established storyline, one that they put time and effort into making great, boggles my mind. It's nonsensical, and quite honestly, I find it a bit unfair. I almost want to call it a cheap trick: hold hostage the end of a story, make sure people are subscribed right now or else they can't get it... but no, it wasn't even advertised as being the end of that story! So, it seems to just be bad marketing, mixed with a bad idea, and it strikes me as bizarre, and honestly, unfair. How is it being entitled to desire to buy the end of a story I've already begun? I'm not asking for a handout, I want to purchase it. Uh, yes it is. It wraps up the Shroud storyline, which quite honestly is more interesting that KOTFE. Yes, it's somewhat of a side storyline, but it's a rather major side storyline, one which you can begin on the Fleet, and one which is rather involved, time consuming and, perhaps most importantly, brilliant. To hide it behind a subscription exclusive bonus without telling anyone what the bonus actually was is absurd, and regardless of their lack of information about it, it's unfair to new players anyway. I'm hardly "WAH"-ing, nor am I asking for it to be given out, anyway. Just curious, where are all of these free Cartel Coins you mention? The only free CC's I know of are the ones you get from achievements. In total, and I've played many hundreds of hours of this game, I've certainly made less than 1,000 CC's that way. So what are you talking about?

I already have HK-51, but that's not the issue. Hell, I already have HK-55, too, but that's not the issue either. The issue is that ending of the Shroud storyline is now locked to everyone who wasn't a subscriber for that time period. But why would it lead to any of that? Allowing people to finish a story that had been in the game for far longer than the subscriber bonuses had been (and I'm certainly not saying it should be for free, mind you) has no reason to lead to a "slippery slope" sort of effect that also arbitrarily releases other subscriber content. When will it end? I see no reason it wouldn't end just as soon as it starts.

Honestly, I'd be willing to pay the full price of the several months subscription to get just the chapter (so, without getting any subscription time, or the other bonuses from having the subscription). Which is a bit absurd for, what, an hour or two of content? The game just doesn't feel complete without it, though.

Perhaps you misunderstand me. I don't think it's unfair to not give out exclusive content to those who didn't meet the requirements. I do think it's unfair that this particular story is exclusive. If it were just a bonus HK chapter, it wouldn't be an issue. It's the fact that it ends the Shroud storyline that is a problem.

First of all, don't get me wrong; I have no issue with subscriber bonuses not being given out to people who didn't meet the requirements. I don't have a problem with a story being a subscriber bonus. There is something that I do have an issue with, though: Why is the end of a story you can already begin locked in a subscriber bonus? The Shroud story is one that I found quite compelling, and would've liked to see play out to the end. Not to mention, it's kind of a pain to go through all of that Macrobinocular stuff, only to find out you need a group to finish the quest line. Is it fair to new players, to have them go through all of this, only to find out that there is no conclusion, that there will never be a conclusion? If it were just a standalone HK-55 story (as I'm pretty sure it was advertised, no?), I wouldn't really mind. But as it is, preventing people from finishing a story they can freely begin, it just seems a bit unfair. I'm sure there could be a fair enough way to have it available. Perhaps another subscriber bonus, that gives you some token that you take to a vendor, along with a few of all those special vendor currencies (like the things you get from the Shadow of Revan Flashpoints, and the Rakghoul DNA Canisters, the Bounty Contracts, etc.). Something more tedious than getting HK-51. Perhaps something you have to pay for, as well. You know, something that makes those who were subscribed at the time say "I'm glad I don't have to do all that!". I'm sure there's a satisfactory way to do it. Ah, I don't know. It's a shame, is all. I'm kind of torn between thinking it'd be a bit unfair to give it out, but that it'd be a bit unfair to not give it out.

Okay, found a video, seems to confirm my thoughts. Here's the conversation between Theron and Lana. Theron: Let me guess. You saw the intelligence reports. Lana: The Republic's preparing for war. Theron: And the Sith Empire's not far behind. So much for our friendly pact with Acina. Lana: The Eternal Alliance is only hours old, but already I sense dark forces massing against us. Uprisings sparking across the galaxy... Theron: We will defeat them. Lana: Tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate. Why would Theron say the bolded, if they're not preparing for war against us? Obviously, the Uprisings part is about the Uprisings, some attempt to tie those into the story, but I really think that they're hinting war between the Empire/Republic and the Alliance. Mind you, this is dialogue from the Dark Side end. So, perhaps it's different in the other one. Here's a link to the video, so you can see it for yourself. Right at the end.

Ah. Well, that's good, then. I thought that the email was, at first, contradictory. Theron and Lana saying they're gearing up for war against us, with Acina saying we're still allies. But then I thought that it was an invitation, so she could take us out. "Let me know when you're planning you're next visit," with the unsaid addendum "so I can plot your capture/death." I'm sure I remember some lines about us being considered a major threat, which was why they were gearing up. I hope I'm wrong, I really do. The idea of going to war with the Empire with my Bounty Hunter makes no sense at all, but that's what I took from it. Hmm. I'll go look for a video, to be sure.

Aren't they gearing up for war with us? The Alliance? I thought the game was essentially gearing us up towards some kind of Alliance vs. Republic vs. Empire thing, where we're all at war with each other (or perhaps even the Republic and Empire forging some kind of alliance. So, Alliance vs. alliance.). It struck me as colossally stupid. Was I wrong?

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who thought it odd. Oh! I didn't even mention that in my other thread. Yes, the story was fantastic! Chapters 2 through 9 were amazing. I had a few issues with some things (story wise, no bugs, thankfully), but on the whole, it was very good. Makes the ending that much more disappointing, honestly.

What of the classes that aren't Force Sensitive? Are you saying that it's Valkorion's power that let us survive? In that case, yes, literally anyone could do it, they'd just need the support of powerful Force users. I think that's debatable, though. Sure, whatever happened when we sat was painful, but I don't know that it'd kill a normal person. Maybe. But if only a select few people can handle it, who gets the Throne next? What if our heir dies by sitting on the Throne, and the Fleet decides to destroy the galaxy? Yeah, but why? We don't need the Alliance as a support network. We have Zakuul, or at least the Eternal Fleet, the Skytroopers that come with it, and any people who were unaffiliated with the Empire or the Republic. That seems to be enough support, to me. But that's not really what happened. Both Empire and Republic fought and lost. No opinion, they weren't up to a fight. They defected because someone came along who was fighting in a different way (and also had an OP Warship). It was the only chance to defeat the Eternal Empire. But they wanted Zakuul defeated for their respective factions. If they weren't so strongly patriotic, they would've just accepted Zakuulan rule. They were fighting for their way of life, but now that they have it back, they don't return? I just don't get it. Besides, if the Eternal Fleet is such a problem, why take it at all? Why not have it destroy itself? That seems more reasonable than keeping a weapon that'll destroy the galaxy if the Outlander dies (so, what, 100 years, at the top end?). Not really worth the risk.